Time On: James Brayshaw opens up about his exit from The Footy Show

James Brayshaw has opened up about his exit from The Footy Show and lamented how television had become “vanilla” and “bland” since the entertainment show’s demise and the takeover of reality TV.

Time On is your weekly wrap-up of all the footy gossip and banter from the weekend.

James Brayshaw has opened up on his exit from juggernaut The Footy Show and lamented how television has become “vanilla” since its demise.

Brayshaw said he was blindsided when he was asked to co-host the popular show with Garry Lyon but loved his time on the panel for more than a decade.

“I was very comfortable in assuming that Garry would just take over (when Eddie McGuire left), he was the perfect fit,’’ Brayshaw said in a chat with Brian Taylor on his podcast, Life of Brian.

“So when the job was given to the two of us I was completely blindsided by it. But we loved it, we had a ball. The main thing I loved — Sam (Newman), Garry (Lyon), Crawf (Shane Crawford), Bill (Brownless), myself, who were the five ones that were on most of the time got on like a house on fire.

Brian Taylor and James Brayshaw at the SCA Sunset Sessions in South Melbourne. Picture: Supplied

“For me what it did, it changed televison in Australia forever. I reckon you’ve got to go almost all the way back to Graham Kennedy or maybe Bert Newton a little bit — those two you genuinely watched television (for) and you had no idea what was going to happen next.

“Television has become I think such a vanilla and bland thing — this is entertainment television. It’s become all reality shows and all the rest of it. When I used to watch The Footy Show the reason I was glued to it was because I used to watch Sam Newman and honestly had no idea what he was going to do next and if you go back to Graham Kennedy and the reason he was must watch television is because you just didn’t know what the hell was going to come out of his mouth next. There’s something magnetic about that so for me working with Sam was gold because as a person on the same panel I had no idea what he was going to say next, that made it just blissful. Even though we got it wrong and probably went to places we shouldn’t go to, the viewing audience was there to watch him. He was that show.”

Now a commentator and host with Channel 7 and Triple M, Brayshaw left Channel 9 in 2016 after a contract breakdown and denied it was over money.

“The money was absolutely fine, these are the terms and the terms were absolutely fine,’’ he said.

James Brayshaw says The Footy Show changed Ausrtalian TV.

James Brayshaw and Billy Brownless featured on The Footy Show together. Picture: Tony Gough

“The only thing I said, I’ve been out of calling TV footy for a long time, so I said somewhere in this deal there might come an opportunity with Fox (Footy) to call footy. So I said I want the ability to do that and I want the ability to do some stuff on digital platforms and that was mainly around cricket potentially in the sub continent.

“I sat down and had the meeting and the people on the other side of the desk said that’s absolutely fine, no problem. I’ll never forget it, we stood up, shook hands, and they said we’re all good, I said as long as the contract you send me reflects this conversation we’ve got no problem. You know the rest. A contract arrived a week later and nothing that had been discussed at that meeting had been included in it.

“So I just turned around and said I’ve got no issue about money or the term but I’m not signing anything til those two things are included in it. I then went down to Albany to see mum who wasn’t going well at the time... the boss of Nine Melbourne rang and said we’ve had a rethink and we’re going a different way.

James Brayshaw has opened up about his career. Picture: Tim Carrafa

“I said righto, if that has stemmed on the back of you not putting those two things in there so be it. I walked away and I’d had 16 years and 11 years at The Footy Show. I was unhappy with a few things that then leaked out afterwards, I didn’t think that was necessary.”

Brayshaw said he was lucky to work with gun producers such as Brent Williams on The Footy Show and Luke Tunnecliffe on Triple M. He could see The Footy Show starting to come under pressure which made it less enjoyable.

“I also thought there was a fair target on (the show’s) back and people were really going after it. A lot of that was unsavoury. It had been untouchable for 25 years,’’ he said.

“In the end people were really starting picking it off. I was the president of North at the time so every time there was any controversy that was added in. It became hard work which it never was. I look back on it now and think it was a brilliant time, I enjoyed my time at Nine. I look back with 99 out of 100 points are really positive, a bit of the way it ended at the end was unsavoury, but that’s the way it is.”

Voice of racing joins top footy team

The voice of racing Matt Hill is also a passionate footy man.

Hill will join Fox Footy’s coverage this season to call a handful of matches — he kicks off on Thursday with the practice match between GWS and Gold Coast.

“Footy has always been a great love and racing is the story that never ends,’’ Hill said.

“As a racecaller you’ve got to be up and about but footy really sparks me up over the winter. What’s a bigger thrill — calling a race stride for stride or a footballer running into goal with 80,000 cheering on … I’m living the dream really.”

Hill started calling racing in June 2000 and has been the main racecaller in Melbourne for the past eight years.

Matt Hill will call several matches for Fox Footy this season. Picture: David Caird

He has previously called a few footy matches for Channel 7 and 3AW and sports across the Olympics.

“I love the variety,’’ he said.

General Manager, Fox Footy Michael Neill, said Hill was a great addition to the team.

“He’s got one of the great voices, he loves footy and he’s incredibly passionate and it just gives us a bit of variety in our calling ranks,’’ he said.

Retired Brayshaw doing it tough

James Brayshaw has spoken about the family’s devastation that Angus Brayshaw has had to retire due to the effects of concussion.

In a wide ranging chat with his Channel 7 colleague Brian Taylor on his podcast Life of Brian, James said his nephew had done it tough since last week’s announcement.

“When you’re passionate about doing something from the age of five and then you’ve been able to live your childhood dream of playing AFL footy and playing in a premiership and you’re absolutely at your prime and to be told your time’s up … I think it’s been incredibly hard for him, they’ve all done it pretty tough,’’ he said.

“I said to him, ‘Mate, you don’t want to be in your mid 40s sitting in a chair dribbling out of the side of your mouth not understanding what anyone is saying’.

“He’s a university graduate, a really smart kid, works for David Evans at Evans and Partners in their finance area so he’s got a whole life to lead. The rawness of being told your time’s up especially when you’ve done a whole pre-season … he’s done it pretty tough.”

Angus Brayshaw has been forced to call time on his career. Picture: Michael Klein

Furnace firing on Sundays

The new Sunday night footy show offering from Channel 9 is set to be called Footy Furnace.

Last week we reported that AFL legend Leigh Matthews is headlining the wrap of the round program along with footy great Jimmy Bartel and Nine’s chief football reporter Tom Morris.

The weekly show will be streamed live on 9Now at 7.30pm on Sundays and then airs on Nine’s main channel after 60 minutes that night.

Could Garry Lyon and Tim Watson be ready to throw in the towel?

Footy legends’ lament

The sunscreen hasn’t even been packed away yet, but two footy legends have been left shaking their heads after catching an early glimpse of their teams in 2024.

Garry Lyon was downbeat about Melbourne’s misfiring forward line in their first practice match while Tim Watson couldn’t find much to smile about after watching the Bombers.

“We may not kick more than 10 goals a game for the year,” Lyon said with tongue firmly in cheek on SEN Breakfast.

“I’m fearful that we might not kick more than 10 goals for the year.”

His co-host Watson also had a not so subtle reaction after watching the Bombers go down to the Saints.

“This is tongue in cheek, but my natural reaction is that not only have we not gone forwards, we’ve gone backwards,” he said.

“Having watched that and you know when you walk away from a game and you want to have something positive about what you’ve seen, I couldn’t find one thing that I was positive about having watched them play. Not one thing.”